Lawrence Johnson Gets 25 Years To Life In Prison For Beating His 3-Month-Old Daughter To Death…As She Slept

August 14, 2012

When parents kill their own kids, oftentimes it’s because the baby is crying uncontrollably and it’s an act of sheer frustration, not of pure evil. That’s not what happened in the case of 31-year-old Lawrence Johnson, a genuine shit-bag who beat his 3-month-old daughter to death as she slept.

Johnson was in a Bronx courtroom today, where State Supreme Court Justice Peter Benitez sentenced him to 25 years to life in prison for the 2006 murder of his daughter, Jayla Omari Mystique Johnson.

Johnson, who has a history of domestic violence and had been absent without leave from the United States Army for more than two years at the time of the murder — was found guilty in February of one count of second-degree murder.

In the early morning hours of December of 2006, Johnson punched the
girl in the head multiple times in the head as she slept in a bassinet
at their homes at 924 East 181st Street.

Jayla was found dead the next morning by her mother.

Authorities suspect Johnson hit the baby after an argument with the girl’s mother, whom he’d apparently been cheating on.

At trial, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office says Johnson tried to
claim that the girl’s injuries could have happened during a series of
accidents unrelated to him punching her in the head. He claims he was
forced to confess to police.

Nobody bought Johnson’s BS story, though, and he was convicted of the “depraved indifference” murder.

Johnson must serve at least 25 years of his sentence before he’s even considered for parole.